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Dinner at Trattoria Il Pozzo in Sant'Angelo In Colle was all about the steak!

Autumn Saturday afternoon college football. Love it. Love it even more when sipping this Side Project Brewing 2024 Rye Beer Barrel Time. Big fudge and rye barrel. Yum! Go Bucks!!

Day 4 of Rustic Tuscany 2024 devoted to one of the big Tuscan wineries, Castello Banfi. We enjoyed a tour of their facilities, saw impressive underground barrel rooms, walked the grounds of the historic castle, tasted wine in their reception room, & then another terrific lunch!

Lunch at Castello Banfi for the Rustic Tuscany 2024 crew was terrific. A beautiful old dining room just for us, delicious cuisine, and a selection of wines were perfect ingredients for a wonderful day!

Anyone like these Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs? I really do. Founded by Fred Schrader, the wines made by his winemaker and now owner Thomas Rivers Brown. I’ve always felt these to be well made wines. This one a 2018 Aston Estate Pinot Noir. Cheers!

Day 5 of Rustic Tuscany 2024 & it’s a visit to Tenuta Fanti. As is customary we get a very nice tour & a tasting of their estate wines with lunch. Our group is really enjoying our tour through this beautiful part of Italy.

Next up on day 5 of Rustic Tuscany 2024 was a visit to the home/winery of Andrea Cortonesi called Uccelliera, near the Sant' Antimo Abbey & village of Sant'Angelo In Colle. It’s a small winery, & we enjoyed a tasting of their excellent portfolio of Tuscan wines.

Day 5 of Rustic Tuscany 2024 wraps with a return visit to Montalcino for some leisure time. I sneak off by myself to explore the Fortezza di Montalcino, its construction began in 1361. Great views of the city & countryside. Our tour has been wonderful but it’s just half over!

Day 6 of Rustic Tuscany 2024 began with a long ride through the beautiful countryside to La Magia. We tour the winery, then walk to behind their home for our tasting. We drink some Rosso & a 17, 18, & 19 Brunello vertical under a canopy of vines, & suffer this view for 2 hours!

A nice treat from our La Magia visit was a surprise tasting of their single vineyard Brunello, “Ciliegio”. It’s considered the pinnacle or “cherry” of their winemaking. A spectacular Sangiovese from their oldest vines, noted by the lone cherry tree seen in the vineyard & map.

The evening of day 6 of our Rustic Tuscany tour spent enjoying the Piazza del Campo, Siena, Italy.

Day 7 of Rustic Tuscany 2024 is a drive from Siena to San Gimignano to a hilltop estate known to many, Campochiarenti & owner Daniele Rosti. Eagerly awaiting harvest, Daniele takes time to show us how he singularly handcrafts his wines. In the distance we can see San Gimignano.

Day 7 of Rustic Tuscany 2024 continues. We leave Daniele Rosti’s hospitality for a long drive to Villa Cennano, a very rural home of a chef, & enjoy a leisurely authentic Tuscan lunch of numerous dishes. It was spectacular. Campochiarenti wines flowed plentifully. Cheers!

Peter Michael Chardonnays never disappoint.

All you college football fans out there, it’s OK to imagine this. How many of you think it would be really cool to see undefeated Army and Navy teams face each other in late November? 🙋🏻‍♂️

Big Zin for the win! Pizza tonight. Works for me.

Done! Completed my civic duty and voted! 13 days before the official election day turnout in St. Louis County is strong. I’ve never in my life felt more compelled to cast my ballot!

I think I need to watch Young Frankenstein soon. Rest in peace Teri Garr. I still remember sitting across the aisle from you on an AA flight from LA to STL. You struggled to walk to the luggage carousel. I asked you if I could get your bag for you. It was so nice to meet you.

Good evening. Cheers!

I’ve so enjoyed the wine/beer/food/travel community here. It’s no fun anymore. The despicable man who bought Twitter for one specific purpose ruined it. There’s so much garbage here I can barely find the fun stuff, so it’s time to leave. I’ll miss many of you. So long. Cheers!